Flat Rock Tavern

I'm sorry Flat Rock, but the only reason I'm sad to see you go is that your immediate closure forced our Skeeball League to find a new home and caused poor Mike to postpone Week 3's skeedule. Luckily, Glascott's picked up the beer ball you dropped.

FRT's life was short-lived. There was much confusion since the place used to be The Spread and quickly changed over without even bothering to change the sign, but we looked past that and hoped for the best. After all, the waitresses were really nice and they were hosting the most awesome game of all here. They also expanded the menu and everything smelled really good. We made a promise to return and try the food, and then we were shut out: "effective immediately."

While we were able to use this as our Skeeball spot for a couple weeks, I just never got fully aboard the Flat Rock train. I mean, $4 for a PBR, you gotta be shitting me! We drink that like water for $2 in Minnesotan dive bars. My father spit on the ground when I relayed the price to him. It was not a good deal, and neither were the other deals. There really wasn't anything tying us tightly to this tavern. Skee-ya-later!

Listen, I could focus on the expansive beer list or the friendly staff here at Flat Rock but let's be honest, both those things are becoming more and more common so let's discuss what really sets FR apart, shall we?

Skee Ball. That's right, some mother effing Chuck E. Cheese style party time skee ball. So when you tire of the same old darts/pool/photo hunt drinking activities you find most places, head to Flat Rock, plunk some bills into the jukebox, check out the game on one of the many flat screens scattered about, pick a beer off the seriously well-rounded beer list and let's roll some Skee!

In the space on Lincoln Ave that used to house The Spread - and actually still boasts its sign out front - Flat Rock Tavern opts to bring a (whaddya know) reliably familiar sports bar theme to this ubiquitous sports bar neighborhood.

Nestled between Dillinger's and B-W-3's, Flat Rock is very much at home amongst its DePaul-friendly cohorts. With multiple flat screens abound, a mix of booths and high tops and two large rooms both equipped with bars and friendly waitresses, there isn't much at FR that isn't squarely Lincoln Park "been there, done that." Well, maybe that's not quite true. The one thing I actually do see completely setting this locale apart is one thing solely, and that thing is.... skeeball.

Yup, Yup. Flat Rock has managed to procure 2 brand new and quite snazzy mementos of your childhood. These skeeball machines reside in the non main bar room and seem to be the pièce de résistance here. I attended their 2x2 Free Skeeball Tournament last night and what can I say, it was a blast. The place was packed - shockingly with mostly 30 somethings and only a handful of youngins' - the beer specials were cheap and the competition was fierce. Good times! All of this, of course, is intended to be the catalyst to get folks signed up for a weekly skeeball league which, if that's your thing, promises to be a whole bunch of fun.

Should you opt out of league play or nights when a free tourney is present, be prepared to shell out $1/game on regular nights (the machine takes cash only) and what is guaranteed to be a throng full of dudes standing around letting you know "I've got next game, man."

An overall entertaining time... if you're looking for activity + drinking + a mix and mingle crowd, this Flat Rock is all yours.